Calakmul Part 5 of 6: The Gran Plaza's astronomical observatory and the stelae of Structure V

Statue of a Maya shaman. This Late Classical figure was found in a burial at Jaina Island on Yucatan's Caribbean coast. Shamans were priests who had a very high status and performed a variety of functions. One of these was to act as astronomers. In that capacity, they used carefully designed observatories to track the movement of celestial bodies. Over time, the priests became aware of astronomical cycles including equinoxes and the solstices.  

This resulted in their invention of two calendars. A 365-day secular calendar interlocked with their 260-day religious calendar to form a 52 year cycle called the Calendar Round. The purpose was to predict planting and harvesting times, as well as to set the festival dates for their multitude of gods. In the process, shamans invented a mathematical system that included the concept of zero. This  development pre-dated the Persian invention of zero by many centuries. 

In this posting, we'll look at Structures IV, V, and VI. Structures IV and VI occupy the east and west sides of the Gran Plaza. Together, they form a complex astronomical observatory. Structure V divides the north and south part of the Gran Plaza and is adorned with ten different stelae. Their texts include fascinating hints about historical events and personalities. 

Structures IV and VI were used by star-gazing shamans. Standing at the entrance of the temple atop Structure VI (above, left), solstices and equinoxes could be viewed. On those days, ancient astronomers would sight through the fork of a stick to observe the sun as it topped one of the three temples (a, b, or c) on the Structure IV platform across the plaza. All three were carefully aligned to allow these crucial celestial events to be tracked.

It was maiz that made these events so important. Because maiz was economically fundamental to Maya society, it had attained a mystical status. The Maya creation myths and their views on the cosmos were closely intertwined with crop cycles. The ability to correctly predict planting or harvesting times gave the rulers for whom the shamans worked immense power. In the end, crop failures were among the fundamental causes of the Classic Maya civilization's collapse.

(Sketch from Calakmul: New Data from Ancient Maya Capital)

Structure VI

Structure VI was constructed in the Pre-Classic period. It stands on the west side of the Gran Plaza. It has three levels with a broad staircase on its eastern side. Stela 22 stands at the bottom of the staircase. At the top is an esplanade containing the remains of a one-story temple. From its central doorway, celestial observations could be made. Together, Structures VI and IV form an "E Group", named after a similar observatory at Uaxactun, another Pre-Classic site. 

Stelae 23 and 24, the white monuments on the esplanade level, once framed the temple's door. The two stelae were added in 702 AD and carry the images of a royal couple. The date coincides with the beginning of the reign of Yuknoom Took K'awiil, so the stelae may very well be dedicated to him and his queen. However, except for the date, the text is too weathered to decipher. (Photo from Latin American Studies) 

Structure IV

Structure IVb is the central temple on the Structure IV platform. It stands directly across the Gran Plaza from Structure VI and is flanked on the left by IVa and on the right by IVc. Structure IVb went through five construction phases. The earliest was during the Late Pre-Classic while the rest were constructed during the Classic era between 250-900 AD.

The tomb Tuun K'ab' Hix (520-546 AD), looted in ancient times, was discovered within IVb. Eight female skeletons were also found. Two of these had been decapitated, apparently to endow the building with a soul. A total of fourteen stelae have been discovered around Structure IVb. Some of these contain references to events that occurred between late 809 and mid-810 AD. In 809 Calakmul began a century of decline, leading to its abandonment in the tenth century. 

The ruins of Structure IVa, with Stela 8 in front. This temple is the least restored building around the Gran Plaza. When the temple was intact, astronomers standing on Structure VI could sight over IVa's top to determine if the the summer solstice had dawned. That date is important agriculturally because it marks the peak of the rainy season in Yucatan. 

In 721 AD, Yuknoom Took K'awiil erected Stela 8, the largest of the temple's three stelae. Its text refers to an event in 593 AD, involving a ruler named Uneh Chan (Scroll Serpent), who ruled the city of Dzibanche until his death in 611. Uneh Chan was the father of Yuknoom Ch'een II ("Yuknoom the Great") who, in 635, moved the seat of the Kaan Dynasty from Dzibanche to Calakmul. He then ascended the throne as kaloomte' (overlord) in 636. By erecting Stela 8, Yuknoom Took K'awiil appears to have been honoring his great grandfather, Uneh Chan. 

Structure IVc is on the south end of Structure IV's platform. The top of Structure IVc's two-room temple marks the position of the sun as it rises on the winter solstice. That is the shortest day of the year and traditionally ends the Maya secular calendar year. The temple rooms are parallel and aligned north-to-south. They are connected by central doorways that face west.

The temple has three stelae. One of them is mounted in the center of the second step of the broad, west-facing staircase. The other two stand to its left and right at the plaza level and are accompanied by altars in the form of stone disks. IVa and IVc are structurally quite similar, except that IVc is somewhat larger.

Structure V and its stelae

South-facing side of Structure V, showing Stela 28. At the end of the Early Classic period, Structure V was converted from a simple temple to the most important stela shrine at Calakmul. In total, ten of these monuments were erected around the building. In the photo,      Stela 29 stands out of sight to the right of Stela 28. The north side of Structure V has a staircase that leads up to a broad esplanade containing Stelae 30 and 31, as well as a two-room temple. 

Stelae 32-37 are located at the Plaza level along the north side. The texts are largely illegible, but carry dates ranging from 657 to 672. This range is significant because Calakmul fought two wars with Tikal during this period. The first was fought in 657, when Calakmul was still ruled by the aging Yuknoom Ch'een II. It was probably his son and heir, Yuknoom Yichak K'ahk' (Claw of Fire), who won that war, as well as a second conflict that began in 672. 

The image on Stela 28 is the wife of the ruler on Stela 29. The female figure's body stands erect, with her head looking to the left toward her mate. She wears an elaborate costume, including a large head dress. Significantly, she stands upon a captive, a sign of domination and military power. Calakmul is unique for its male and female "paired stelae". Female members of the ruling elite seem to have possessed a political status absent in most other Classic Maya cities.

The image of the ruler appears on Stela 29. This monument stands several yards to the right of Stela 28. The image on Stela 29 is more weathered than 28, but the left-profile of a man can still be seen. He looks toward his female partner and, like her, stands upon a captive. They are the ancient Maya world's equivalent to a modern "power couple."

Both stelae carry the date 623 AD. This places them at the beginning of the reign of Tajo'm Uk'ab 'K'ak', of the Kaan Dynasty, who ruled Dzibanche from 622 to 630. Given this coincidence of dates, it likely that the figures are Tajo'm Uk'ab 'K'ak' and his wife. Like Stela 8, these stelae may have been built after the dynastic migration from Dzibanche to Calakmul, in order to show reverence for ancestral figures from the Kaan's place of origin.

The inscriptions on the side of Stela 29 are largely unreadable. Tajo'm Uk'ab 'K'ak' died in 630 AD, and the very next year the name of a Kaan ajaw (lord) from Dzibanche is first mentioned in connection with Calakmul. The inscription was found in a distant city and the man's name was Yuknoom Head, another son of Uneh Chan. This would make him the brother, or perhaps half-brother, of Tajo'm Uk'ab 'K'ak'. 

The inscription mentioning Yuknoom Head speaks of his victory in a fratricidal conflict within Dzibanche's dynasty, following the death of Tajo'm Uk'ab 'K'ak'. In the same year, members of Kaan Dynasty began to move from Dzibanche to Calakmul. By 635, the Kaan political takeover was complete and Calakmul was proclaimed as the dynasty's new seat. Then, in 636, a ruler named Yuknoom Ch'een II ascended the throne of Calakmul. 

He became the overlord not only of Calakmul, but of the broadest constellation of city-states ever assembled in the ancient Maya world. Yuknoom Head and Yuknoom Ch'een II may well have been the same person. A new ruler sometimes adopted the name of an illustrious ancestor and Yuknoom Ch'een I had been a famous 5th century ruler of Dzibanche. It is likely that Yuknoom Head re-named himself Yuknoom Ch'een II at his coronation.

This completes Part 5 of my Calakmul series. I hope you have enjoyed it and, if so, you will please leave any thoughts or questions in the Comments section below or email me directly. 

Hasta luego, Jim